I Hear Your Voice
by Venus Smurf
Summary: For ten years, he's searched for the girl who saved him from his father's killer. For ten years, he's trained to protect her, but can he find her before the killer comes after them both?
1. Episode One: I Hear Your Voice

**A.N.:** So I've been too stupidly busy the past few months to work on any of my stories and have writer's block anyway, but in an effort to work through it, I'm caving to a request to provide my version of the Korean drama, _I Hear Your Voice _(which is all sorts of awesome, even if the first episode is choppy).

In any case, I'm going on the record to state that none of this is mine. I'm only fleshing out what already exists, so whatever we might think of the events or characters—or that disgusting but slightly funny bathroom scene you'd have to watch for yourself to appreciate—I'm just following the script. Keep in mind, though, that this is dramaland, not reality; it's _supposed _to be cheesy at times.

_Jjang: _leader/the best, in this case used as a reference to the leader of a school gang

_Ssang ko: _I'm not entirely sure about this one, but I believe it's a reference to whoring. Or plastic surgery. Or maybe it's someone who had plastic surgery in order to sell herself. I honestly don't know, but just assume, as I am, that it's an insult.

Also, I'm a review whore. While I'm doing this primarily to get the creative juices running again, I'd still love to hear from you.

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**This is for you, Sassy-chan. NOW STOP CALLING ME. And return my dog, please. **

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"I Hear Your Voice"

_Plot: As nine-year-old Soo Ha helplessly watches his father being murdered, he discovers a terrifying new ability: he can read the violent mind of his father's killer. Even with this new ability, Soo Ha is only saved from death himself when a passing girl catches the killer on camera. Later, the girl saves him again by stepping forward as a witness just when the killer is about to go free. Soo Ha, half in love already, promises to find the girl again and spend his life protecting her. For ten long years, he searches for her, not realizing that the killer is loose and also looking…_

**Episode One: I Hear Your Voice**

It's been said the eyes are the windows to the soul, that a person's essence and desires are reflected through them. Love. Anger. Despair. Longing. Madness. All visible in the eyes, no matter what lies the expression might tell or words might attempt to hide. There can be no hiding the soul.

He saw it all, of course, and probably would have even if their thoughts hadn't been as clear to him as their voices. Sometimes he wondered if he'd learned to read the eyes only because he'd already heard the thoughts behind them, or if the thoughts were open to him only because he'd already seen the truth in the eyes. Most of the time, he just tried not to think about it, but it was harder some days than others.

This was one of the more difficult days. He'd realized years before that blocking his ears blocked the thoughts, as well, but his headphones had slipped during a particularly jarring bus ride, falling to his neck just as the woman sitting next to him thought of the money she'd stolen from her aging father's account. Her thoughts were full of guilt, but she was also thinking how she might avoid punishment once her act was discovered, how she could use what she had taken, if she could do it again.

It would have depressed anyone, but this was hardly the first time he'd encountered the crueler side of human nature in his nineteen years, and it was far from the worst he'd seen. Still, his expression was grim as he left the bus and the woman behind, sliding his headphones back over his ears as he walked the last few blocks to the high school.

Perhaps his frown kept his peers away, or perhaps he'd been too aloof for too many years as he tried to avoid the thoughts of those around him, but Soo Ha's classmates didn't approach him that morning. A few called out greetings, yet even those were mostly just polite, and he only nodded back. He was far from unpopular and rarely disliked, but he still climbed the stairs to his third-story classroom alone and in silence, his hands shoved deep in his pockets and his earphones still blocking out the world.

Of course, even with his ears stopped and his attention elsewhere, he couldn't have missed the girl. She was walking a few steps in front of him, and though he couldn't see her eyes and certainly didn't know her name even if they'd been in the same class for nearly a year, he recognized the depressed set of her shoulders and the glum expression on her pretty face. Even without hearing her thoughts, he would have known she was expecting trouble and that she would break if it came.

And come it did. Soo Ha signed inwardly as, only a step behind the girl, he took in the four students waiting for her inside the classroom. Two, a girl with bright Yankee hair and a boy with slightly cruel eyes, were leaning a little too casually against the lockers, pretending to pose for a picture, two more boys standing in a corner by the window. The girl stopped her pose and looked at the new arrival, her eyes turning mean. "Hey, Ssang Ko," she called, her tone already smug in spite of the insult as gum popped in her mouth. "Grab that mop and clean up over there."

He knew the Yankee girl, if only vaguely. She'd been more or less chasing him since the school year had begun, but while he didn't think about her enough to actually like or dislike her, he also knew this wasn't the first time she'd played the bully. Soo Ha looked at her, his own eyes narrowing as they locked on hers.

_Did they properly put the glue on the mop? Aish, it has to stick on right. _

So that was it. Petty. Juvenile. Entirely in keeping with past actions. He wondered how her victims ever fell for her tricks when they were so obvious.

Soo Ha turned his attention to her companion, the boy with the mean eyes. His mental voice was less interested, even less spiteful but no less damning. _She's gotta fall face first for it to be fun, _he was thinking. _Maybe we should have put on more oil?_

Soo Ha sighed more audibly this time, full lips briefly tightening against his irritation. He was almost scowling as the victim set aside the trash can she'd been carrying and took a step forward, truly not understanding why she so meekly played the lamb in what she had to know would be a slaughter, but his expression smoothed out again as he grabbed her arm and gently pushed her behind him. "I'll take care of it, so you clean the window," he told her without looking back.

The Yankee's eyes widened as she realized what he intended, the boy at her side calling out in alarm as Soo Ha walked quickly across the room and grabbed the mop before any of them could actually stop him.

Everyone seemed to freeze as Soo Ha's long fingers closed on the wood, and he turned back to them, a carefully puzzled expression on his face now that the damage was already done. "Why?" _Why are you trying to stop me? Because you care, or just because I'm not the right victim?_

They didn't answer, but Soo Ha had already "discovered" the glue and was attempting to pull his fingers free. "What's wrong with this…?"

The glue wasn't truly strong enough to hold him, but they'd laid it on in thick, goopy clumps, and he could already feel it burying itself in the creases on his hands. He made a great show of struggling with the broom anyway, staring at his fingers in disgust once he'd finally pulled his hand away. "Is this glue? Who put that on?"

He stepped back, as he'd known he should, and immediately slipped in the oil. This part they had done right, and the fall wasn't as fake as he might have wished. His legs flew out from beneath him, his entire body crashing to the ground. He landed on his back, barely keeping his head from slamming against the floor, and then waited for the reaction.

The girl he'd saved only looked worried, though he hadn't missed the relief or frustration in her expression. The mean-eyed boy was staring at him in clear irritation, insults flying from his lips as he lunged forward, hand raised. Soo Ha didn't need to be a mind reader to know what was coming, and he was immediately on his feet, sliding to the side and narrowly avoiding the half-hearted blow. He didn't acknowledge his attacker, instead stretching his back and pretending to be absorbed by the broom once against stuck to his skin. "This isn't coming off," he muttered, his eyes focused on his hand.

Angry now, the other boy tried again, but Soo Ha blocked with the broom, cracking the handle against the boy's chest with just enough force to drive him back. The boy's eyes widened with surprise, but he immediately recovered and stepped to the side, pretending his chest didn't hurt and that he hadn't missed what should have been an easy shot. His expression turned dark.

Soo Ha knew Mean Eyes was too angry now to realize the block had been too sharp to be only an accident or to understand just how badly he'd judged the situation, but Soo Ha was in the mood to teach a lesson, and he continued pretending to shake the broom in his hand.

The bully lunged again, his fist bunched and aimed for Soo Ha's head, but Soo Ha was too quick to be caught that easily. He lashed out with his foot, tripping Mean Eyes and bringing him to his knees. The boy's hands slapped against the floor as he belatedly stopped his own fall, his head nearly smacking against a bucket, and then he was on his feet again, ripping off his jacket and throwing out a challenge.

Soo Ha's even teeth flashed in a smug smile. "What's wrong?" he asked, the smirk in his voice clear to everyone else.

He was no longer pretending, and this only seemed to anger his opponent even more. "Hey, this guy wants to put up a fight today," the bully snarled. "Okay, Park Soo Ha, you're going into a _coffin_ today."

Soo Ha's eyes were bright with mockery, but he managed to push the grin from his face. "Why are you like that?" he asked, voice heavy with false concern. "You're being so scary."

"Shut up, bastard!" The other boy lunged again, this time bringing his leg up to for an impressively high kick Soo Ha still dodged easily.

Mean Eyes didn't even pause. He kicked again, then tried to strike with his fist. Soo Ha dodged each blow, finally using the broom handle to block a particularly energetic kick. The handle snapped under the force of it, and as the boy clutched at his foot and grunted in pain, Soo Ha finally dropped the broom.

The loss of his handicap made dodging even easier, but just as Soo Ha was getting annoyed and thinking of ways to end the conflict, he made the mistake of looking into the other boy's eyes.

There was rage there, fueled by embarrassment and the surprised, sudden understanding that he was no match for Soo Ha. There was also determination, a refusal to admit defeat, a willingness to take this too far if it meant saving face.

Soo Ha's expression became sharp, hard. He was no longer enjoying himself, no longer just teaching a lesson. He recognized the furious desperation in the boy's face and knew this needed to end.

Soo Ha spun, sending a foot into Mean Eye's chest. His much longer legs made the move easy, but the force behind it spoke of tight muscle and carefully honed reflexes. The boy fell to the ground, actually sliding into the other two students as he clutched his chest in pain. He struggled for air and didn't get up again.

Remorse came then, because determined or not, this boy could never match the years spent training to fight and defend, and it was petty of him to take pleasure in that. Perhaps the bully had learned his lesson and wouldn't be as quick to attack in the future; perhaps not, but Soo Ha should have been man enough himself not to let it go that far. This wasn't why he'd learned to fight.

He could feel his classmates' stares as he turned and slipped out of the room, not even winded but uneasy with the sudden attention. None of them had known he could fight at all, let alone that he could fight so well, and he was annoyed with himself for letting his pride determine his actions and possibly create enemies where enemies didn't need to exist.

He had enough enemies.

By the time Soo Ha returned to the classroom, the broom handle had disappeared. The floor still looked suspiciously slick, but most of the oil seemed to have been scraped away, and his opponent and his friends were already in their seats. They kept their faces carefully turned away as Soo Ha moved beyond them to take his own seat, but he could feel the tension in them. He knew they were waiting for more, either from him or from their defeated classmate, and while he wasn't interested in continuing the fight and almost regretted getting involved at all, this was becoming a distraction he neither needed nor wanted. Better to end this before their fear turned to anger and they responded with something worse than a prank.

When home room ended and the bully stood and left the room, Soo Ha followed.

He found the other boy—what _was _his name?—in the bathroom, leaning against a wall and speaking quickly into his cell phone. He sounded annoyed, perhaps even a little nervous, as he insisted that he'd only slipped and was still jjang even if he'd technically lost the fight.

Soo Ha hid his surprise, not understanding how someone so easily beaten could have risen to jjang in the first place, then deciding it didn't matter. He was here to smooth things over, prevent this from becoming a nuisance in the future, and not take an interest in school politics.

Soo Ha waited until the other boy was standing in front of a urinal before approaching and taking a place at the next stall over.

"Liar," he said.

The jjang jumped, irritation and then unease flashing across his face as he realized who was beside him. He glared at Soo Ha for an instant, then turned his eyes back to his stall. "You scared me," he snapped.

Soo Ha kept his voice calm as he made use of his own urinal. "To believe that you slipped is to cut yourself too much slack," he said. "You strained yourself too much."

The boy didn't answer, kept his eyes on the urinal and the no longer steady stream he was producing.

Soo Ha rolled his eyes. "Ay. Why are you getting scared? Don't trickle and do your business comfortably." His own stream certainly wasn't as weak.

The bully flushed. He didn't respond to what had become the most immature of contests, though the small, petty part of Soo Ha took mild satisfaction in other comparisons the boy was likely making. Still, he waited until the other boy was finished and washing his hands before following him to the sinks and speaking again. "You must be curious how I won."

Curiosity was indeed battling with lingering fear, and even Soo Ha might not have known which was stronger had he not looked the boy in the eyes.

_This guy's like a ghost._

He wasn't only thinking of the way Soo Ha had dodged, how he'd managed to slip away from every attack without any effort at all. He was thinking of how little Soo Ha spoke, how he didn't have any real friends and barely seemed to interact with anyone at all. He was thinking how little he knew of Soo Ha, how little any of them knew of him. How little they knew of his weaknesses. How had he learned to fight so well, and if he could fight like that, why hadn't he ever tried to take over?

It was such a petty concern that Soo Ha could only smile. "Shall I teach you?"

The other boy scowled. "No, thanks," he countered instantly, irritation once again beating back the healthy fear he'd just started to develop.

He started to turn away, but Soo Ha reached, lightening quick, for the boy's collar. He spun the jjang back to face him, looked into his eyes and, with a suddenly serious expression, said, "You see…looking at people's eyes…" He released the boy's shirt and instead grabbed his chin, his grip hard enough that the other boy didn't immediately try to pull away. "…I can read that person's intentions. Their thoughts, where they'll hit, even where they're going to run…"

He deliberately trailed off, noting how wide the boy's eyes had gone, the shock that slackened his features. "_Re-really_?!"

Soo Ha scoffed and released the boy's chin, his laughter convincing and entirely false. "It's a _lie,_" he scoffed. "You fell for it?" He smiled, dropping his hands to his hips. "Hey. How can there be secret tricks? You just slipped."

Relief spread across the boy's face. "Right! That was it!" The relief faded, replaced by a milder version of irritation. "Feel thankful for that," he said, bravado already returning.

He looked away, but not quickly enough to block his thoughts.

_What a weak orphan. I'm giving you a break because you're so pitiful._

It would have been the wrong thing to say, but he couldn't have known it was just as wrong to think. He didn't look up in time to see Soo Ha's lip curl, to see the dark eyes harden, to see the expression become dangerously still.

Soo Ha didn't even try to control his expression this time, and when the boy finally did look up, he took a visible step back. "What, what, what?" he demanded, backpedalling furiously.

The fear had returned to the jjang's face, but Soo Ha only turned and walked away before he did something else he'd regret.

This time, as he walked the halls, it wasn't the frown that kept people away, but the tight anger still in his face. He ignored them all, quickly walking out the school doors and stopping only when he reached the stairs leading into the school. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, trying to push back the memories and the despair.

His fingers found the cell phone he'd been keeping in his pocket, reached for the small charm dangling from it. The charm was a cheap thing, tarnished and worn, a single cherubim holding a tiny blue stone, and his expression turned sad as he stared at it.

_If I'm not alone, then nothing in this world can scare me._

He slipped his headphones over his ears, thoughts drifting as the familiar song shut out the world.

_The song playing on the radio was one of his dad's favorites, and Soo Ha had long since learned the words. He was singing along now, his child's voice high and unsteady but happy. "I'll be next to you forever…" From the corner of his eye, he could see the angel on the rear-view mirror dance with the movements of the car. The angel was also one of his dad's favorites; he said it reminded him of Soo Ha's mother, watching over them and keeping them safe. _

_The headlights from a passing vehicle lit the interior long enough for Soo Ha to see his dad's fond smile. He glanced over at his young son. "This time, are there any usable coupons?" he asked. _

_It was Soo Ha's job to keep track of the coupons, but it wasn't a task the child minded. His father always let him pick the restaurant, and it wasn't like either of them could really cook. _

_Soo Ha glanced down at the booklet in his hands. "Yeah. There's a pizza salad coupon…and Aquaquest is forty percent off on weekdays." _

_His father glanced at him again, this time puzzled. "What's Aquaquest?"_

_Soo Ha sent an incredulous look his father's way. "Dad, you don't know Aquaquest? In our country, it's the best aquarium." How could anyone not know that, especially someone as smart as his dad? "This—you _have _to go."_

_His father sighed. "Eh…aquariums are boring. I've gone to too many."_

_Soo Ha made a face. "_I _haven't gone. Not once since I was born. Because of that, let's go next week! Hmm?"_

_His dad was openly laughing now. "Okay. Aren't there any coupons for weekends instead of weekdays? I can't go on the weekdays."_

_Soo Ha turned suddenly glum eyes on his father. "It's only thirty percent off on the weekends." _

_His father smiled as he entered the intersection. "What a waste." He was already thinking of what he'd have to do to rearrange his schedule and make time for the aquarium._

_Soo Ha was still looking at his father, already thinking of ways to convince him, but then his eyes widened. Even at nine, Soo Ha knew the truck shouldn't have been that close, that it was going to hit them._

_There wasn't even time to shout a warning. _

_Soo Ha barely felt the impact, at least not at first. He didn't feel the side of his father's car crumple, or feel his own body jerking against the seatbelt. He didn't feel the pain as his head hit the dashboard. He had eyes only for his father. He could see the surprise on his father's face, then the horror as his father was surrounded by thousands of tiny shards of glass from the shattering window. _

_Truck and car slid across the intersection, and only then did the pain register. Everything went black, mercifully black, and by the time Soo Ha regained consciousness, it was over. His head was on fire, his entire body ached too much to move, and what he'd later realize was blood was too warm against the side of his pale face, but it was the despair in his father's voice that brought Soo Ha back._

"_Soo Ha…"_

_His father's voice was so weak, so frightened, and that terrified Soo Ha more than the accident itself ever could have. His father was never afraid._

_He forced his eyes open. It was harder than it should have been. "Dad…"_

_There was blood on his father's face, cuts from the glass and the force of the crash, but even in the haze of pain, the man's concern was still for his son. "Are you injured?" he asked, and Soo Ha wondered why his father wasn't moving. "Are you hurt anywhere?"_

_Soo Ha realized he couldn't move, either. The pain had turned his arms and legs to water, and he didn't have the strength. "My head…hurts…" he managed to whisper._

"_Hold on for a bit," his father said, his voice now pleading. "Stay conscious! Huh?"_

_Soo Ha tried to nod, could only swallow painfully instead. It hurt too much to speak._

_Outside the car, out of hearing, the driver of the truck had pushed open his door and jumped to the asphalt. His boots crunched on broken glass, but his steps were steady as he slowly approached the broken car. He peered through the shattered windshield, pounding on the glass and watching for any signs of life._

_Soo Ha's father, voice still dazed, looked at the man he thought would be their savior. "Excuse me," he ground out, polite even now, "please get us out of here. My kid is hurt."_

_The words ended in a sob, but the man jerked back as if stung, eyes widening. _

That bastard is still breathing.

_Soo Ha, watching in a daze and still unable to move, jerked in shock as the man's grating mental voice filled his head. The boy's eyes widened, filled with fear._

I should have killed him in one go.

_Soo Ha never doubted what he'd heard, never wondered if he was imagining the words. With a child's simplicity, Soo Ha accepted that he'd heard this man's thoughts, but any questions he might have had were trumped by pure fear._

_The man was shaking his head, disappointed. _It's become too much work.

"_Excuse me," Soo Ha's father was saying again, his words now slurred from injury and pain even if his eyes were open. "Please open the door."_

_The man spun suddenly, running back to his truck, and Soo Ha forced words past his dry tongue. "Dad…run away…"_

_His father looked at him without comprehension. _

"_That person…to us…"_

_The warning failed. The man returned, jumped onto the hood of the car and raised the steel pipe in his hands. He brought it down on the windshield, breaking what was left, sending more glass into the car and then using his foot to kick the rest out of the way. Then, as Soo Ha began to shake and his father started to cry out, he raised the pipe again._

_The first blow landed with a sickening thud, blood spraying in all directions, and by the second, Soo Ha was screaming. He barely felt the warmth of his father's blood on his face as the man leapt to the ground, pulled Soo Ha's door aside and looked down on the child of the man he'd just brutally murdered._

_Soo Ha looked into the face of his father's killer, and even through his fear, he could see the satisfaction in the man's expression. There was no remorse there. No pity. Only a calm sort of fury._

_The killer lifted the pipe…_

A much older Soo Ha lifted his face to the sun, suddenly cold fingers continuing to caress the angel he'd taken from his father's car. He'd pulled the headphones away, closed his eyes.

_Ever since that day, there are two kinds of sound that exist in my world, _he thought. _One is the sound everyone else can hear. And the other…the sound only I can hear._

Soo Ha opened his eyes, let them focus on a student coming up the stairs.

_I heard that Soo Ha, that punk, beat up Joon Gi. Is that true?_

The boy seemed more disgusted than surprised, as if a hero had fallen from a pedestal, and Soo Ha looked instead at the teacher standing a few feet away, frantically searching his pockets.

_Where did I put my cell phone? Aish, where is it?_

Two girls were mounting the steps, one hanging on the other, who just looked sympathetic.

_Ugh, how uncomfortable. It's only the second day of my period. Should I skip the class?_

Soo Ha looked away, thoughts dark, already lifting his headphones back to his ears.

_My world, compared to other people's world, is a lot noisier. _

He didn't return to class. An hour passed, then another, and by then it was lunch time. Soo Ha remained on the steps, now sitting, his thoughts clearer but his heart still heavy. He watched as students broke off in pairs or groups, listened to their laughter. He never thought of joining them or even of seeking out his own lunch. He had no appetite.

The Yankee girl found him there a little while later. She slid onto the step beside him, wordlessly handed him a jar of pink liquid. He took it automatically, frowned down at it. "What's this?"

She pulled a piece of cloth from a plastic bag. "Clean your hand with this," she told him, holding the cloth out.

He took that, as well, though he couldn't help scoffing a little. "Using this cleans it up?" Did she even realize how thick the glue was?

She glanced over at him as he began cleaning his hands. "Park Soo Ha. Back there, why'd you do that?" Her voice turned slightly petulant. "Why ruin our prank on Ssang Ko?"

He wasn't surprised that she'd guessed the truth. He'd let it be too obvious at the end. Still, he didn't look at her. "Pranking Ssang Ko? I didn't know you were."

"Liar. You did that because you knew."

He had nothing to gain from the truth. "I told you, I didn't know."

Soo Ha continued wiping his hands, and, more to change the subject than anything, said, "Oh, wow, this really cleans it up."

And it had. The glue was all but gone, though his fingers still felt just a little sticky.

"You like Ssang Ko, right?"

The question caught him off guard, and he finally looked at her, surprised by the absurdity of it. Why would she think that? He hadn't exchanged more than a few words with the girl the entire year. He didn't even know her real name.

And he had someone else.

"No," he said, smiling a little incredulously.

She frowned. "On Valentine's Day, you told me you had someone you liked." She looked down at her nails, then hesitantly back at him. "That's why you didn't take any chocolate."

Had she offered him chocolate? He didn't remember. "Yeah. I have someone that I like."

She stopped pretending to be interested in her nails. "Who is it?" _Could it be me?_

He smiled. "Could you be thinking that it's yourself?"

She backpedaled furiously. "Are you crazy? I didn't think it was me!"

Her voice was too loud, too nervous, and for some reason, he found himself warming to her, just a little. He didn't approve of the bullying, but maybe she wasn't so bad.

Of course, she had to ruin it. "Who's the bitch?"

She looked angry now, maybe a little defiant. _Is it his first love?_

It was true enough, and he didn't see any point in denying it when it might make her stop chasing after him. "It's my first love."

She looked disappointed. "Who is your first love?"

_Is she pretty? Nice?_

"She's pretty. To die for."

The disappointment deepened, but she wasn't the type to stay down for long. She visibly steeled herself, then told him, "Don't be fooled by a girl's looks. Teacher says that looks only last when she's young."

He smiled. "She isn't just pretty. Nice. She's nice and smart. This world's best woman."

The girl looked away, crestfallen again, but Soo Ha didn't even notice. He was once again lost in his own thoughts, this time seeing not blood and death but courage and determination set in a pretty face.

_Jang Hye Sung, where are you?_


	2. Episode One: Part Two

**A.N.: **For those of you who are following this story, I added a few scenes to the first chapter and replaced it with a longer version.

And yes, because out of eighteen episodes, this post marks the halfway point of the first. Next portion will hopefully include the murder.

Also, my thanks to** Sassy-Chan** and **HarryPotterSlashYaoiLover** for the awesome reviews!

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_Plot: As nine-year-old Soo Ha helplessly watches his father being murdered, he discovers a terrifying new ability: he can read the violent mind of his father's killer. Even with this new ability, Soo Ha is only saved from death himself when a passing girl catches the killer on camera. Later, the girl saves him again by stepping forward as a witness just when the killer is about to go free. Soo Ha, half in love already, promises to find the girl again and spend his life protecting her. For ten long years, he searches for her, not realizing that the killer is loose and also looking…_

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"I Hear Your Thoughts"

Episode One: Part Two

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"_Who is your first love?" Is she pretty? Nice?_

"_She's pretty. To die for."_

Jang Hye Sung walked briskly up the street, briefcase in hand, gaze straight ahead, heels clicking in a perfectly straight line against the pavement. She was frowning slightly, her dark eyes cold and hard in a pale, finely sculpted face, her normally full mouth thinned with irritation. She would have been beautiful if she hadn't looked so rigid.

"_Don't be fooled by a girl's looks. Teacher says that looks only last when she's young."_

The suit she wore was just as severe as her expression, professional if not exactly expensive. It wasn't a remarkable outfit, just a dark jacket and skirt set over a white blouse, but she knew it also showed off her naturally shapely legs and trim waist. She was fairly proud of her figure, if only because, even at twenty-six, she'd never needed to work out to maintain it. If anything, she looked better now than she had in high school.

_He smiled. "She isn't just pretty."_

She stopped as a basketball bounced into a puddle at her feet, splashing mud across her legs.

"Hey, lady, can you pass the basketball back?"

A group of high school boys were watching her expectantly, sweat dripping down their faces. Two of them waved, friendly enough but still impatient.

She bent to wipe the mud from her leg, then bent again to lift the ball with the hand not holding the briefcase. She picked it up, looked at them with an annoyed sigh, and then threw the ball over her shoulder. It bounced down the hill, hitting fence posts and cars, and the boys, startled and angry, ran after it.

Hye Sung walked past them without a backward glance.

"_Nice. She's nice and smart. This world's best woman."_

The sign above the door was lit in an ugly yellow, the words declaring the court hearing was in session etched in an equally ugly green.

Inside the room, perched a little too casually in a rather uncomfortable chair, Hye Sung twirled a pencil in her fingers as she mechanically read her prepared statement.

"Honorable Judges, Lee Young Cheol, the defendant, acknowledges the truth of the indictment and is reflecting deeply."

Her voice was bored, maybe a little annoyed, and she never even looked at the forlorn man sitting beside her.

"Currently, the defendant…" She paused, glanced at her client, and without softening her tone, asked, "Do you have a mother?"

The man, surprised at being acknowledged in any way, stammered out an affirmative.

Hye Sung looked back at her statement, her voice again becoming monotonous. "…currently, the defendant is supporting his aged mother and struggles to live."

One of the judges began shaking his head, and even he couldn't tell if it was more in admiration for her fearlessness or plain disgust.

Hye Sung didn't even notice. "Just think how sad the aged mother of the accused would feel…"

Another client, another crime, the same statement.

"Honorable judges, defendant Joo Hyun Jung acknowledges the accusation and reflects deeply…"

The judges, more than familiar with her after so much time, began mouthing her words along with her, but she still wasn't interested enough to look at them and wouldn't have cared if she had.

"The defendant…is your mother alive?"

The woman beside her grimaced. "No."

"…the defendant, who lost her mother at an early age, has been living with loneliness. Please consider the defendant's hardships…"

"Well, she passed away last year," the client hesitantly corrected.

Hye Sung didn't even blink. "She also carries the trauma of having lost her mother recently. Please consider the defendant's suffering…"

More than the judges were shaking their heads now, and most of them were feeling pity for the defendants.

The hearings ended, the judges returned home, and Hye Sung walked a little more slowly through the justice building's courtyard. She wasn't smiling, but her stance less rigid as she held a phone loosely to her ear. "I was in the middle of a court hearing, so how was I supposed to pick up the phone?"

Across town, Eo Choon Shimstepped out from behind the counter of the restaurant, wiping one hand on her apron while the other held her own phone to her ear. "Isn't your public defender interview tomorrow?" She sat at one of the small tables, all of which were empty at this hour. The evening rush would start soon, but she had a little time to speak to her only daughter. "Did you prepare everything?"

Hye Sung was dismissive. "Everyone that applies for it gets the job." She paused beside a woman handing out Sticky Note pads for a new business. The woman handed a small, plastic wrapped bundle of notes to her, and Hye Sung began to walk away. "Why would I prepare? How embarrassing."

Her mother was less apathetic. "Hey, you! Do you still have some pride left to be embarrassed? If you have it, then hurry and repay the money you borrowed! I'm not going to be a mom that has to financially support her lawyer daughter."

Hye Sung rolled her eyes. "Mom, do you watch the news? Recently, the legal profession is in a slump. There are too many lawyers and not enough cases." She turned on one heel and began walking back to the woman still handing out Sticky Notes. "One out of six lawyers in our country makes less than two million won a month." She held out her hand, and the woman, recognizing her, hesitantly gave her another note pad.

Choon Shim was shouting now. "Two….? You said you made eight hundred and eighty thousand won!"

Hye Sung wasn't any more intimidated by her mother than she'd been by the judges. Voice calmer, she still didn't miss a beat before responding, "It's because I was born in the eight hundred and eighty thousand won generation. It's not my fault; I was just born at the wrong time."

"I've had enough," her mother snapped, cutting off anything else Hye Sung might have said to plead her own case. "If you get the job, then you will earn the salary on a regular paycheck, right? And when you start getting paid, I'm going to be taking it."

"I got it," Hye Sung said tiredly, knowing she'd won for now but also knowing her mother was right.

"Hye Sung, I'm warning you, you better get the job as a public defender. If it boils down to it, I don't care if you have to be homeless or take out your organs. About my money, my fifty million won…you had better repay it within a month, including nine percent interest! You got it?!"

Hye Sung sighed. "Yes, I do." She disconnected the call, then turned to the woman still handing out note pads. She held out a hand, and as the woman turned pointedly away, walked around her and held out her hand again.

"You already got one," the woman told her, annoyed.

Hye Sung wasn't deterred by her irritation. "I need a lot of these for my job. It'll be great for you to quickly pass them all out anyway."

She reached into the basket and helped herself to several, then walked away, never hearing the woman's muttered, "Oh, my. How petty."

She still wouldn't have cared if she had.

* * *

The legal office was far more impressive than the court house had been, but while Hye Sung wouldn't have wasted time being awed, the man gaping from the front steps certainly was.

Cha Gwan Woo was a tall man, a little too disheveled to be handsome, hair slightly too long for a professional but still not in style. Round glasses ten years out of date hid rather nice eyes, and while the rumpled suit wasn't quite long enough, his expression fairly shone with an enthusiasm that almost made up for the rest.

He stared up at the building for a moment, then set his shoulders and choked down a little water. Determination glinted in his eyes as he began to mount the steps, stopping every few seconds to bow in greeting to the surprised individuals he passed.

He stopped again at the top of the stairs, pausing before a sign directing people towards a conference room. He read the room number aloud, muttered a self-encouraging, "Okay!" even as he began nervously straightening his collar.

The conference room was down a long, quiet hallway. The door was shut, but the enthusiasm remained as he freshened his breath and crossed himself even though his breath hadn't been bad and he wasn't religious. He pushed the door aside, slipped into a room occupied only by a single woman.

She was sitting in one of the chairs at the back, and he couldn't see much of her beyond the too-casual ponytail and the phone in her hand. She didn't look up from the game she was playing on her phone.

"Is this the room for the public defender interview?"

"Yep."

"Okay." Gwan Woo smiled and entered the room fully, shutting the door behind him and then slipping into a chair in the row ahead of hers.

He looked around, still smiling. "There are fewer people than I expected. I thought competition would be high." He'd heard getting this job was difficult, that many wanted it in spite of the long hours and relatively low salary. Obviously he'd been wrong.

He spun in his seat, turning to look at the woman. "It's strange, right?"

She still hadn't looked at him. "It seems normal."

Her voice was bored, apathetic. Perhaps this wasn't her first interview.

"Yeah…" Gwan Woo started to turn around, changed his mind. "I met some older colleagues of mine and got some of the previous interview questions." He pulled a sheaf of papers from his briefcase, held them out to her. "Do you want to see?"

Those same friends would have mocked him for sharing with what was essentially his only competition, but he'd always been fair minded, and it simply wouldn't have occurred to him to do anything else.

"No."

He mentally shrugged and returned the papers to his briefcase. After all, he didn't need them. He'd spent so many hours pouring over the questions and preparing answers that he had them nearly memorized anyway.

"I'm so nervous, I'm shaking," he confided, not at all bothered by the fact that the woman probably wasn't even listening. "Being a public defender was my dream. Are you like that, too?"

The woman seemed irritated now. "Nope." She didn't elaborate.

"Truthfully, I was a police officer, but I left that life to become a lawyer. A public defender, to be specific." He peered more closely at her. "Aren't you curious as to why?"

Most people were. It was such a drastic lifestyle change, to go from catching the bad guys to defending them.

The woman did look at him, then, and there was nothing but aggression in her face. "_No, I'm not._"

He blinked against the force of her reply, finally took the hint and turned away.

Gwan Woo might have tried again, but the door opened, and a man stepped inside. He looked at them both, surprise widening his eyes. "What are you doing here?"

He jumped to his feet so quickly that his glasses slipped on his nose. "I'm waiting for my interview," he sputtered out, becoming louder as the nerves returned.

The man just looked at him. "The interview is in East Wing, room five two nine. This is the Western Wing."

The woman blinked, then suddenly snapped her phone shut, all but flying out of her chair and bolting for the door, literally shoving him aside before sprinting down the hallway. He followed, only a step behind her. "Hey, let's go together!"

She was already gone, darting around a corner and out of sight. He didn't consider himself out of shape, but even in heels, she was _fast. _

She breezed past the security guard at the end of the West Wing, darted around furniture and people, all the while ignoring his pleas for her to wait and never slowing down.

She stopped only when she reached the door to the real conference room, and he only caught up with her at all because she froze in the doorway.

Her reaction, sudden as it was, was also completely understandable. The conference room was packed with people in dark suits and briefcases, some looking nervous, others annoyed. Some of the women were fixing hair or makeup in tiny mirrors, many of the men shuffling through papers and books in last-minute preparation. There must have been at least fifty people in the room already.

"Are all these people interviewees?"

He hadn't really been addressing anyone, even the woman, but a man waiting near the door heard. "Obviously not all of them," he said, sounding a little annoyed at the ignorance. "They said the interviews are going to take three days. It means that it's three times the amount of people here."

"_T__hree times?!"_

Gwan Woo might have been shocked. He might have been worried. Instead, he found himself shoved against the door, the woman's hand a vice on his shoulder.

"Let me see that," she hissed out, and if he hadn't spent years chasing hardened criminals, he might have been terrified by the expression on her face.

"See what?" She was making him more nervous than the interviews had.

She held out a hand. "The past interview papers."

So she_ had_ been listening. Somehow, that only made him _more _uneasy.

* * *

Gwan Woo tried not to show how nervous he was as the interviewers flipped quickly through his resume, but he couldn't quite keep his hands from balling into fists in his lap. These men had the power to make or break his dream.

"Lawyer Cha Gwan Woo," one of the men muttered to himself. He was a small, balding man, and one Gwan Woo didn't know.

He still straightened automatically, squaring his shoulders and straightening his hands. "Yes!"

He'd all but shouted, but the interviewer didn't seem to notice. "Your reports are good," the judge said, still sounding like he was speaking more to himself than Cha Gwan Woo. "Since you are at this level, you must have received many offers from law firms. So why do you want to be a public defender?"

He looked up expectantly, and Gwan Woo straightened even more. "I didn't want to become a lawyer for the money," he confessed, voice still a little too strong but completely honest. I will become a soldier who will fight for those that are found guilty because they didn't have enough money for a lawyer. That kind of lawyer!"

The words were sincere, even if Hye Sung, shamelessly taking notes from just outside the door, privately thought they were naïve to the point of being irritating. It didn't help that Lawyer Cha actually pumped his fist in the air at the end.

_Save me from the eager ones_, she thought.

Cha Gwan Woo immediately realized how over-the-top that had been, swallowed, and forced his voice back down to normal decibels. "I want to become…Justice shouldn't be forsaken because of money," he said.

Others said much the same, if less sincerely, when their time came.

"For that world, I will fight!" enthused another, waving his hands a little too forcefully in the air as he spoke.

Outside, Hye Sung crossed out another of her notes. "Damn," she muttered. It hadn't been the best of her ideas, but she wasn't about to use it now anyway.

"Barack Obama," started one woman, "who used to be a human rights lawyer, said this: I am running to be President to care for those who are ignored by the government. I feel the same way."

Another note hastily crossed out. Hye Sung rolled her eyes, swearing again as she realized she was running out of ideas. Only two left, and neither of them were real options.

Her time came too quickly, long before she could think of anything useful to try. She sat a little sullenly in the same chair Cha Gwan Woo had used, keeping her uneasiness from her expression only by filling it with irritation instead.

"Lawyer Jang Hye Sung. Why do you want to be a public defender?"

The Sticky Note attached to her palm was nearly all crossed out. She crumpled it in her fist and then shoved it in her pocket.

_Time to wing it._

She pulled a few of the Sticky Note packets from the same pocket, stood and handed one to each interviewer.

They were puzzled, as she'd expected them to be. "What is this?" asked the bald one, confused.

"It's an advertisement for a dentist's office," she informed them, voice and expression calm once more. She always thought better on her feet anyway. "I shamelessly took more than one to save on post-it notes."

They stared at her. "Are you trying to get a pity vote?" demanded the bald one.

She made her voice even calmer. "I should provide you the honest reason," she said. "I…came here because of money."

The interviewers froze.

"I don't have the ability to get in a law firm, and I don't have the money to enroll with a broker. I was expelled in high school, and I attended a nondescript university. I have no connections in this field, either. I can't even make a million won a month."

The bald man, having spent the entire day listening to people extol the virtues of justice and compassion, looked a little sick.

"…but if I become a public defender, I heard that one can make three to four million won."

The bald man no longer looked like he might vomit, but he clearly wasn't pleased. "How is there such an honest lawyer like this?"

One of the others scoffed. "She's completely new at this!"

The bald man was glaring at her. "I think we should give her the job," he said, sarcasm thick in his voice, and one of the others laughed. His glare deepened. "I think you wanted a twisted drama," he told her, "but that is only possible in dramas. You took the wrong approach."

Her expression didn't change in the slightest at this, though her tactics did. "Well," she started. "It's not that."

They didn't take the bait. "The rest seems obvious," said the bald man, dismissing her. "The results will be sent through the mail."

_Whatever. _She thought of fighting it, but her Plan B had only been half-formed anyway. She stood to leave.

"By the way…"

She stopped, turned to face the bald judge in silence, this time not even trying to hide her irritation.

"A while ago, you said you were expelled in the past, right?"

"Yes."

"Why were you expelled?"

Perhaps it hadn't been strictly polite to ask, but he seemed genuinely curious and less angry, and it was all the opening she needed. "If I tell you, are you going to let me in?"

He considered that. "If your story has an impact, maybe."

Her expression turned arch. "Impact, you say?" She smiled. "Of course there is an impact."

"Tell me." It was an order, though one softened by genuine interest.

She sat back down.

"Ten years ago, I had one friend, who was the daughter of the house where my mom worked as a maid…"

_The classroom was stifling, and perhaps more than one student would have been battling sleep had it not been for the papers on their desks. None of them had thought this would be an easy test, but even so, the questions were far more difficult than even the most paranoid of them had expected._

_Hye Sung was faring better than some, though only because fear of her mother had kept her studying far longer than she would have otherwise. She slowly filled in answers, occasionally biting her lip or glancing at the girl in the chair beside her._

_Seo De Yon was pretty, her dark hair long and feminine, her face well-proportioned if still a little round. She'd be absolutely beautiful in years to come, but even now, she wasn't exactly lacking in admirers._

_It didn't hurt that she was intelligent or that wanting to be an artist made her interesting. Wealth brought popularity she would have had anyway, and though Hye Sung probably shouldn't have been looking at De Yeon at all, at least not during a test, the glances became both more frequent and more suspicious as time passed._

_It wasn't long before those suspicions were confirmed. Hye Sung watched, mouth falling slightly open, as the other girl pulled a piece of paper from inside the sleeve of her jacket. The paper snapped back into her sleeve once she had what she wanted, pulled by a rather ingeniously used piece of elastic, and the girl quickly scribbled the answers onto her test sheet. _

_Hye Sung briefly wondered why the other girl had been able to design such an elaborate cheat sheet but hadn't thought to be more subtle as she used it. She didn't, however, really consider what her own response might be. She only grunted in disgust. _

_De Yeon heard, looked up, realized that she'd been caught, and froze. Fear flashed across her face as she slowly drew a hand to cover the notes she wasn't supposed to have, and then she looked away. _

_She needn't have worried. Hye Sung considered reporting what she'd seen, but in the end, decided it would be completely pointless. Who would believe her? Though Hye Sung had told her mother that she and their employer's daughter were friends, they weren't, really. Hye Sung found De Yeon arrogant and irritating, completely artificial, but her classmates would hardly choose to believe impoverished, nearly friendless Hye Sung over rich, popular De Yeon. _

_With that test, De Yeon, once tenth in the school, suddenly leaped to first. _

_Hye Sung and De Yeon managed to avoid each other for the next few days, studiously keeping their eyes turned away in school, not interacting in any way at home. They didn't actually live under the same roof—Hye Sung and her mother lived in a small two room home on the grounds—and it wasn't hard to remain separate, at least until De Yeon's mother decided to throw a party to celebrate her success in school. _

_Hye Sung wasn't invited, but she and her mother spent hours in the kitchen, preparing the food she wouldn't be allowed to eat, knowing all the while she'd be up half the night cleaning the mess De Yeon and her friends would inevitably make. _

_As if that wasn't bad enough, Hye Sung was tasked with serving. She carried trays of food and drink into the yard, where De Yeon and her equally spiteful friends had gathered to shoot off firecrackers. De Yeon looked at her only once, her smile fading as Hye Sung's eyes met hers, then turning away and forcing a grin back to her face before anyone else noticed._

_Hye Sung, more resigned than angry by then, turned away herself. Her only thought, at that point, was how unfair it all was._

"_Hye Sung!"_

_One of De Yeon's friends had seen her, and though her words were sweet enough, there was a carelessness to her words that Hye Sung didn't like. "Why don't you join us and stop working?" She looked back at De Yeon. "That's okay, right, De Yeon?"_

_De Yeon wasn't exactly enthusiastic. "Huh? Okay. Let her do it."_

_The girl handed Hye Sung a sparkler and lighter, but Hye Sung hesitated before using hers. She didn't want to be there, and though she wouldn't have minded the fireworks under any other circumstance, she didn't want to dirty her hands by association. _

_What had begun with a test ended in an accident. One of De Yeon's friends, the one who'd given Hye Sung the sparkler, held a lighter to a stick that wouldn't light. Confused, she lowered the stick, not realizing she'd pointed it in De Yeon's direction until it exploded in a flash of light and gunpowder._

_De Yeon dropped, grabbing her eye and screaming in true agony. As the others realized what had happened and began screaming for De Yeon's mother, the culprit threw her stick to the ground and rushed to the friend she'd just injured._

_Only Hye Sung was left standing, shock keeping her in place._

"At that time," the adult Hye Sung confessed to her captive audience, "I was shocked and worried…but deep in my heart, maybe I thought she deserved it, because I'd really hated her."

_De Yeon lay in the hospital bed, her eyes wrapped in cloth, her face tight with fear and misery. She'd escaped worse injuries, but even the doctors didn't know if her eye could be saved. _

_The household grieved with her, her mother staying at her hospital bed at all times, her father arguing with the doctors, demanding specialists and other opinions, Hye Sung's mother preparing De Yeon's favorite dishes and then forcing Hye Sung to help her cart them by bus to the hospital. _

_When she complained, Choon Shim angrily cuffed her. "Is De Yeon a stranger?"_

_If De Yeon had been a stranger, Hye Sung wouldn't have known what it was to hate someone like this._

"_Of course she's a stranger! Is she me?" _

Is she family? _Hye Sung wanted to demand. _Is she someone you should treat as your own child?

"_We've lived here for ten years. If you've lived with someone for ten years, it's the same as family."_

_Perhaps that would have been true if Hye Sung hadn't seen the barely veiled contempt in De Yeon's father's eyes, if his wife hadn't been so careful to tell her friends that Hye Sung was the housekeeper's daughter and not De Yeon's friend, if De Yeon had ever smiled at Hye Sung when others weren't around. _

_If Hye Sung's mother had a fault, it was seeing good in others, even when it did not exist. _

_De Yeon wasn't family. She wouldn't ever be family._

"_Hurry and get dressed. We have to go to the hospital together."_

"_I don't want to," Hye Sung said, annoyed. "Go by yourself. She's so annoying that I don't even want to see her."_

_Choon Shim cuffed the back of Hye Sung's head. _

"_Why do you keep hitting my head?!"_

_Hye Sung's indignation aside, her mother gave her little choice but to go to the hospital. When they arrived, two of De Yeon's friends were already there, standing nervously around De Yeon's bed. There was a tension in the room that Hye Sung didn't immediately understand, even with De Yeon still wearing a bandage over the injured eye, even with the anger still in her father's face._

_They stared at her as she entered, the two friends and De Yeon's family. Choon Shim didn't seem to pick up on it, instead approaching the best and asking after De Yeon's health. _

"_Hye Sung did it! I saw it!"_

_At first, the words barely registered in Hye Sung's mind. It simply hadn't occurred to her that these girls, even as spiteful as she knew them to be, could accuse her of something so terrible._

"_What did she do?" Choon Shim was just as confused._

"_She shot the fireworks into De Yeon's eyes," the friend insisted. "I saw it."_

_Hye Sung stared at her. "_I _did? Are you crazy? When did I?" She was getting angry now, as what this meant sunk in. "I didn't even light any fireworks!"_

_De Yeon's mother was just as shocked. "How could you? How could you do that to my child?"_

"_It's not like that, really!"_

_How could they believe such a lie?_

_She turned on the friend who'd accused her, nausea churning in her stomach as fury churned in her eyes. "Why are you doing this to me?"_

_De Yeon's father was also staring at the girl. "Are you sure…that you really saw it?"_

_The girl honestly just seemed puzzled by the question, as if the lie, once spoken, had already become truth. _

"_Tell me if you're saying you saw that on circumstantial evidence, or if you really saw it." His voice was grave, his expression severe. "That's important."_

_Was he giving the girl a way out? Or was it only the lawyer in him, needing evidence before all else?_

_The girl couldn't answer._

"_She didn't see it," Hye Sung growled. "No, she couldn't see it. I didn't do it, so how could she see it?"_

"_I saw it, too."_

_If Hye Sung had been shocked by the first accusation, her heart nearly stopped with the second._

_De Yeon was staring at her lap, her one good eye downcast. "Hye Sung was the one who shot fireworks at me."_

_The friend jumped in again, her confidence returned. "See? I told you I saw." She glanced at the remaining friend, a plea in her eyes. "You saw it, too, right?"_

_The last girl looked down, the lie too obvious. "Huh? Yeah, I…I think I also saw it."_

_She couldn't meet Hye Sung's eyes._

_Choon Shim was pale, her eyes wide. "You," she asked her daughter in a stilted voice, "…is this true?" _

"_It's a _lie. _They're setting me up when they're the ones who did it._"

"_Are you not going to admit it, like a coward, even after making me like this?" De Yeon was an excellent actress. Even to Hye Sung, her voice sounded more angry than panicked. _

_Hye Sung's mother set down the basket of food they'd brought. "Wait a minute," she snapped, her voice still shaking but somehow stronger. She grabbed Hye Sung's arm, started to pull her from the room. "Talk to me for a bit."_

_De Yeon's mother wasn't willing to let them go. "What do you mean, talk? Even begging for forgiveness isn't enough here!"_

_She would have lunged at Hye Sung had her husband not grabbed her. "Stay still for a bit," the judge told them both. _

_Choon Shim was still too pale. "I'm sorry. Please, wait for a bit. I'll come back after taking her outside."_

_Hye Sung wouldn't let herself be pulled. "Mom. Mom! You also can't trust me? Is that it?"_

_Her mother only pulled her harder, dragging her from the room._

"_It really wasn't me! I said it's not me!"_

_Choon Shim stopped, pushing her against the wall and staring into her eyes. "Look me in the eyes and tell me clearly. Did you do it? Is it true?"_

"No. _It's not true."_

"_Even if you did it, I'll take your side, so don't lie, and even if it means trouble, tell me the truth."_

_Tears spilled from the corners of Hye Sung's eyes, hot on her cheeks. "Even though I'm cold," she said, anguished, "I'm still your _daughter_. The daughter of Eo Choon Shim who cares more about the ones she serves than her own family!" She took a shuddering breath. "I hate De Yeon, but I won't do that!" _

_How could her mother even believe this of her? The tears were coursing freely now. "I know my personality stinks, but not to that extent. I'm not that bad!"_

_Choon Shim wiped away a tear of her own, but she seemed so much calmer now. "Stop crying. Aigo, look at that nose. How dirty!" _

"_Do you believe me?" Nothing had ever been more important._

"_You told me to."_

_That wasn't good enough, though the ache in her chest had eased. "You believe me because I told you to and not because you really trust me?"_

_Her mother cuffed her head. "Aigo, this girl is still like this even after I said I believe her."_

"_I said not to hit my head!"_

_Inside the hospital room, De Yeon stared at her father. "Dad…you believe my words, right?"_

_There were so many ways he might have answered, but it was the judge who replied, not the father. "Lie down. I have to hear what they say first."_

_His wife protested, but De Yeon's expression fell. She knew what he'd meant._

_The door opened slowly, and Hye Sung's mother entered the room, child in tow. "Madame, Your Honor…I talked it through with Hye Sung, and she said she didn't do it." _

_Her words were a plea for understanding they did not receive. De Yeon's mother scowled. "Look here, Sye Hung's mom. Blindly protecting your daughter isn't going to solve the problem."_

"_No, I'm not just protecting her because she's my daughter…but this girl is someone who doesn't cry. She didn't cry when she lost her father. And when she broke her leg, she didn't even shed a tear. When she cries, there's only one reason: when there is something unfair."_

_Hye Sung stared at her mother in wonder._

"_Seeing her cry like this means that she was wrongly accused. The culprit isn't Hye Sung, but someone else. I'm positive. Please believe me and Hye Sung!"_

_She might have said more, but De Yeon's mother interrupted with a furious, "My daughter said she did it! She said she saw it with her own two eyes!"_

_Choon Shim was still trying to keep her voice calm. "I think she must've been confused because there were so many kids. My daughter is really not the one."_

_The other woman's voice rose to a shriek as she spun to face her husband. "Honey, what are you doing?! Are you just going to listen to her lies?"_

_The judge stepped around his wife, came to stand before his servant and her child. "Hye Sung, I'm not listening because I believe you. I'm waiting."_

_Hye Sung could barely raise her eyes to his. "Waiting for what?"_

"_Admitting that you did it, reflecting on it, and apologizing for it."_

_The righteous indignation did more to her than even the false accusations, and any hope that he might listen to reason died. "I said I didn't do it!"_

_Across the room, De Yeon smiled._

"_If you admit it and sincerely apologize, I'm planning to forgive you. For the sake of your future, we'll continue to live as we are now."_

_He clearly thought he was being generous and ignored his wife's renewed protests. Hye Sung wanted to slap him, but he wasn't finished._

"…_but if you're going to be like this to the end, I can't let you attend the same school as her."_

"_What does that mean?" she demanded, even though she knew. "You're going to have me kicked out?"_

_It was in his power. As a housekeeper's daughter, Hye Sung could barely afford tuition. She'd attended at all only because he'd called in a favor. It'd be the work of a single phone call to get her expelled, even if he didn't mention the accident. _

_Her mother seemed more shocked by this than by the lies. "Honorable judge! She said she didn't do it! Why can't you believe me?"_

_He ignored her. "Also, you should leave the house."_

_This was too much. "What do you mean, leave? Where are you telling us to go so suddenly?" Didn't he know they had nowhere else to go?_

"_So apologize and sincerely reflect on what you have done wrong. I'm giving you this last chance because I've watched over and protected you for the last ten years."_

_He'd ignored her, and now he threatened her. Was this what being family meant?_

_He turned his back on her and walked to his daughter's bedside. De Yeon was still smiling, but now that she'd realized the damage her lie would cause, the smile was no longer satisfied. _

_Hye Sung looked at her mother. "Mom…"_

_They both knew what exile meant. No reference, no income, no home. Where would they go?_

_Her choices were not choices at all. Apologize for what she hadn't done, and ensure their survival? Or refuse and become homeless?_

_Hye Sung looked at her mother, agony in her eyes. "I…am…"_

_Exile, or dishonesty?_

_There was only one real option. _

"_I'm _not the culprit! _I have nothing to apologize for or reflect about!"_

_Hye Sung refused to cry any longer. Her eyes were dry as she and her mother left, as, the next morning, she stood, stone-faced, beside her homeroom teacher's desk._

_The woman handed her a sheet still warm from the printer. Hye Sung could barely force herself to read it. _

"_We decided to do it as a drop-out request," the woman told her, not truly sounding concerned even as she destroyed what was left of Hye Sung's future. "It's better for the school and for you."_

_Better for the school, at least. She'd been presumed guilty without any evidence, without a chance to defend herself. De Yeon's father had been true to his word._

"_What happens if I don't write a drop out note?"_

"_It'll be expulsion."_

_It was another shock. Expulsion meant never being accepted to another school, even if she could find the money to pay for it. It meant a rocky future, uncertainty, fear. _

_It meant not accepting the lie._

_Hye Sung walked slowly back to her former home that morning, arriving in time to find her mother loading the last of their meager belongings in a truck. _

_She bowed to one of the family's servants, a kind older man who'd helped them many times over the years. "Thank you," she said, sincerely grateful. _

"_Do you have somewhere to go?" He was clearly worried, for he knew what their future would likely hold. _

"_Yes, I do. Don't worry." _

_They both knew it was a lie, but it was one he wouldn't take from her. "Well," he said, reaching into his pocket for an envelope, "here. They gave you severance pay."_

"_Don't accept it!" Hye Sung cried as she reached them. "Don't accept it. If you believe me, don't accept it!"_

_The man's voice was gentle. "Don't be like that and accept it. Even though it's dirty, money will help."_

"_Don't accept it. _Please_." _

_Her mother took the envelope._

_It was the final straw. "Don't you have feelings? Aren't you angry? I was _expelled_ today. I didn't do anything, yet I was kicked out of school."_

_Her mother opened the passenger door. _

"_I'm not getting on," Hye Sung snapped. _

"_Don't say anything and just get on." Choon Shim seemed so tired._

"_Until you give back the money, I'm not moving an inch from here."_

_Her mother also seemed to have lost patience. "Then you walk."_

_She didn't look back as she climbed in the truck and drove away._

_Hye Sung began to run after her but quickly stopped. Disbelief had weakened her legs until she could no longer move forward._

_She remained on the street for hours, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the air cooled. De Yeon's father watched from his second-story balcony._

_It was dark before her mother returned, and still Hye Song stood in the street. She'd gone numb, both in body and mind, and she barely registered that De Yeon's father had come to stand beside her._

"_How long are you going to be standing here? Hurry up and follow your mother."_

_He didn't sound angry, perhaps even sounded as if he admired her a little, but she wouldn't ever soften towards this man. _

_Anger cleared her mind, brought back the strength she'd lost. "How much did you give my mom for her retirement? About a hundred thousand won? No, a million won?" Her voice was cutting, derogatory. "I don't know how much it is, but it's compensation for your conscience. You gave it because you had a doubt. 'What happens if she's not the culprit?' That's why you gave it. Right?"_

_If anything, he seemed pleased by her words. Smug. "With that money envelope, I wanted to test your mother," he confessed. "If she believed her daughter or not. As you said, if she'd believed you, she wouldn't have accepted that money." He was practically sneering at her now. "Even the mother doesn't believe her own daughter, so how am I supposed to believe you?"_

_She was too angry to answer, but only then did she notice her mother._

_Choon Shim was standing a few feet away, splashing liquid onto a small pile of books on the side of the road. Knowing they were watching, she pulled the envelope from beneath her arm, held a lighter to the edge. _

_De Yeon's father ran across the street as the envelope caught._

_Choon Shim dropped the envelope on the pile. Flames immediately shot out, engulfing everything, including the blood money De Yeon's father had given them._

_The judge reached the pyre in time to see the stack of books Choon Shim was using as kindling. All of them were his._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_A judge with a warm heart," she said, eyes on the flames. "I couldn't understand a single word of this book when I was reading it, but now that I'm burning it, I can feel the warmth."_

"_I asked _what are you doing?!"

"_You're not listening to my words," she replied calmly, "so I'm trying to show it to you. My daughter didn't do anything. She was unfairly kicked out of school." She faced him, her words not barely more than a shriek of pure fury. "My daughter is right, and you're wrong, Judge Seo Dae Seok!"_

_For the first time in days, Hye Sung smiled._

"_Looking at you," Choon Shim said, "I think you got the message. That's all I needed. Let's go, Hye Sung."_

_They walked away, hand in hand, Hye Sung's eyes shining. _

_Judge Seo didn't watch them go. His eyes were on the flames as his books burned._

_Choon Shim made it around the corner of the next street before she collapsed, falling to her knees and gasping for breath._

"_Mom!"_

"_Hye Sung, how did I do? Did you believe my acting?"_

_Hye Sung stared at her in surprise. "What is this? Were you acting a while ago?"_

_Choon Shim was still breathing hard. "Just wait a minute," she realized, "did I just say everything I wanted to? I think I forgot something."_

_Hye Sung relaxed, grinning now as her mother looked at the notes she'd scribbled on her own hand._

"_It's right there," she said, pointing. "'You're the person who uses the law not to save people, but to make them cry.' I forgot this sentence. This was the key point. I left it out!"_

_Hye Sung's smile widened. "Mom, you really believed me." She threw her arms around her mother in an rare show of affection. _

_Choon Shim just looked at her. "This girl. I told you I believed you." _

_She cuffed Hye Sung on the forehead. _

"_I told you not to hit my head!" She lifted her mom's hand, used it to stroke her own head. "I need my head to take exams, go to college, and make money. This is our food source now, so don't hit it."_

_Her mother was smiling. "Food source." She bumped her forehead against her daughter's. "You think you can be our food source with your head?" She bumped their heads together again. "_Your _head." And again. And again._

_Hye Sung rubbed her head, and they smiled together._


	3. Episode One: Part Three

**A.N.: **I've been trying to finish the first episode for a week now. Fortunately, I got into a pothole (don't let the broken ankle fool you-I totally won), and even though the doctor prescribed some really fun pills and I'm sort of hallucinating (there are penguins _everywhere), _at least I had an excuse to lounge in bed and write.

Incidentally, I realize there are a lot of italicized sections in this part. The flashbacks pretty much end with this episode, however.

Also, I really could use a beta for this. Anyone who has seen the show and has at least a working knowledge of where the commas go would be great, though someone familiar with South Korean culture would also be very useful. Email me at venus_smrf if you're willing!

* * *

"I Hear Your Voice"

_Plot: As nine-year-old Soo Ha helplessly watches his father being murdered, he discovers a terrifying new ability: he can read the violent mind of his father's killer. Even with this new ability, Soo Ha is only saved from death himself when a passing girl catches the killer on camera. Later, the girl saves him again by stepping forward as a witness just when the killer is about to go free. Soo Ha, half in love already, promises to find the girl again and spend his life protecting her. For ten long years, he searches for her, not realizing that the killer is loose and also looking…_

* * *

Episode One: Part Three

_Hye Sung had never considered herself a particularly violent individual. She'd never gotten into a fight, had never needed to defend herself physically, but as she waited for De Yeon beneath a flickering streetlight, Hye Sung had never felt stronger. _

_It had been a week since her expulsion, a week since De Yeon's lies had cost Hye Sung and her mother everything. A week of sleeping at saunas, a week of looking for work and not knowing what the future would hold. A week of regrets, at least for Hye Sung, who still tasted ashes every time she thought of what she'd have to do to survive. A week spent facing so many of the things she'd always dreaded._

_They'd been fortunate, at least in some ways. After a week, Choon Shim had found work in a chicken shop run by a kind but elderly woman Choon Shin had known in passing. She'd hired Choon Shim, given them a place to stay in a room over the shop, offered the encouragement they'd badly needed. In the coming days, Choon Shim and Hye Sung would prove themselves hard workers, and by the end of the following year, Hye Sung would pass the exam offering the equivalent of a high school diploma. The future would become bright again, if less than what it might have been, but Hye Sung wasn't thinking of any of that as she waited for De Yeon._

_Hye Sung had been waiting longer than she'd expected by the time De Yeon walked slowly down the path to what had once been their home. She'd taken to pacing in circles out of sheer boredom, but as De Yeon approached, one eye still covered in a patch, her eyes became sharp and alert._

_They stared at each other for a moment, Hye Sung with renewed anger, De Yeon with blossoming fear, and then Hye Sung pulled the sparkler out from behind her back._

_De Yeon paled. _

_Hye Sung took a step forward, then another, then another, each time causing De Yeon to back away herself. "Hye Sung, why are you like that?" She was clearly trying to smile, trying to pretend, but fear shone in her face. "What are you going to do with that?"_

_Hye Sung lit the firework._

_De Yeon ducked, screaming, her fingers over her ears as the sparks shot harmlessly over her head. _

_"You..." Hye Sung began as the other girl remained crouched on the ground. "Did you really see me shoot it?" _

_De Yeon couldn't answer, and Hye Sung knelt in front of her. "You didn't see it, right?"_

_De Yeon looked defiant, if also still scared. "I did! I saw it clearly!"_

_Hye Sung's face was still hard, cold, calm. "If you saw it, then why didn't you do anything? If you saw me shooting it, then you should've avoided it, like now. You said you saw it."_

_Shame was now warring with the defiance in De Yeon's face. "That…"_

_She couldn't speak, and Hye Sung smiled bitterly. "You didn't know I could be this smart, right? You didn't see it. Why are you still acting like a coward?"_

_De Yeon stood. "Fine, I didn't see it, but you shot it! You lied, so I tried to catch you for lying!"_

_Hye Sung also stood, grabbing De Yeon's wrist in a tight grip. "Go tell," she snarled. "Go tell my mom and your dad exactly what you said just now."_

_De Yeon pulled her hand free. "You are the culprit, so why should I? You deserve to get punished, so why should I?!"_

_"Seo De Yeon!"_

_Whatever else she might have said was lost to the sudden sound of screeching tires and tearing metal, of glass shattering, of a silence agonizingly abrupt. _

_"What is that sound?" De Yeon's words were hesitant, because while they'd both recognized the sounds of a crash, they didn't know how to react. Should they call the police? An ambulance? Their parents? What would they find if they went themselves? _

_Concern replaced anger as they shared an uncertain look, and Hye Sung was only a step behind De Yeon as they both turned and sprinted towards the crash._

_From a distance, the accident didn't seem so terrible, at least at first. They'd been conditioned by television to expect explosions and overturned cars, perhaps bodies heaped on the road, but at first they saw only the truck, slanted but upright, a small car smoking and broken beside it. _

_And then a man jumped to the hood of the crumpled car, and it wasn't until they heard the screaming child that they realized he wasn't trying to help. He had a pipe in his hand, and they watched, helpless with horror, as he brought it down again and again. _

_De Yeon put her hand on her mouth, fighting nausea, unable to keep looking, but Hye Sung continued staring in shock. "What is that?" Her heart had stopped beating. "He killed a person?"_

_The man jumped to the ground, yanked the passenger door open, stared at the bloody child inside the car. _

_De Yeon pulled Hye Sung's sleeve. "That person…I think he's going to kill that kid, too!"_

_Hye Sung moved on instinct. She pulled her phone from her pocket, hit the button to turn it into a camera, and snapped a picture just as the man raised the pipe again._

_"Smile!" her camera shouted, and the man froze. _

_Turned._

_Saw them._

_De Yeon ran._

_Hye Sung closed her phone, almost mechanically put it back in her pocket, and tried to move on legs suddenly turned to stone._

_It was the boy who saved her. The killer was walking slowly towards her, unhurried, his pipe dragging on the ground, but it was the boy she watched. He was shaking, eyes blank, clearly in shock and with blood dripping down his face._

_It was the agony in his expression that reminded her of where she was, what had happened, what danger she was in._

_She turned and ran._

_The killer ran after her._

_She'd always been quick, and she caught up to De Yeon easily. The two of them sprinted down the sidewalk, cursing the isolation of the streets, fear giving their feet wings. _

_They knew they couldn't outrun him, and only a minute later, De Yeon and Hye Sung both instinctively ducked behind a large shrub. They crouched, holding each other, their hearts hammering in their chests._

_Their hiding place should have been obvious. Perhaps, in daylight, it would have been, but the darkness provided too many hiding places. The killer, realizing this, suddenly screamed in rage and began striking at the bushes with his pipe. He missed them, but just as he was giving up and turning away, De Yeon hiccupped. _

_The killer turned back, his eyes scanning the bushes for the witnesses he knew were there. _

_Hye Sung put her hands over De Yeon's mouth, but the hiccups continued, if more quietly._

_Sirens saved their lives._

_The killer snarled, stared into the bushes. "If it wasn't for you bitches, I could've cleanly finished this," he hissed. "You guys can hear me, right? Since you're nearby, you should be able to hear me. You saw everything earlier, right? You know why I killed that man? It's because he moved his tongue in a wrong way. He said everything he wanted to, and that's why I killed him. If you guys want to live, close your mouths. Then nothing will happen. If there's no witness, it'll just be a car accident. If you go to the police and tell them you saw me and it was a murder case, you guys will have the same fate as that man. If you tell your parents, I'll do the same to them, as well. So, guys…for me not to kill you, you guys have to help me. Okay?!" _

_He punctured his words with another strike at the bush, but even if they hadn't just seen him murder a man, they'd have known he meant it. There had been too much rage in his eyes, in his screams, for them to believe he wouldn't follow through._

_"Just like now, stay hidden. Don't ever appear, and don't say anything. Or else I'll kill you and the people you told. So stay hidden for the rest of your lives, so that I don't hear anything or see anything. Stay hidden."_

_He walked away, the pipe leaving trails of blood on the sidewalk. _

_They didn't move for a long time._

* * *

_The murder made the news the next morning._

_"At 12:10 AM this morning, at an intersection, there was a crash between a car and a twenty-five ton truck," the newscaster reported, enough concern in his voice to make him seem genuine. "The driver of the truck, Mr. Park, died on site."_

_Footage showed a rescue worker lifting a bloody, broken boy from the car as another man pulled a cloth over the dead father's face. _

_"His son has an injury to his head, so he is being treated at the hospital. The police are investigating on the basis of the truck driver's testimony claiming he saw Mr. Park speed through a red light."_

_Hye Sung had heard the story at least once already that morning, but as she passed the roadside vendor absently listening to the grainy television, Hye Sung pulled the sun visor she was wearing down over her face. _

_"Did you hear?" A woman nearby sounded more excited than disturbed. "They said this wasn't an accident."_

_"I know, right? They said it's a murder case."_

_A third woman dismissed them both. "What's the point when there aren't any witnesses? There's no evidence."_

_The first woman didn't agree. "Why wouldn't there be evidence? The son saw his father die."_

_She, too, sounded more excited than she should have been, as though this was something from a drama, as though two lives, maybe four, hadn't been ruined._

_"It's just what a little kid said. It doesn't help in court."_

_Hye Sung's heart sank. _

_"…so, until a witness appears, they'll just treat it as an accident?"_

_The killer had been right. He must have known that it would happen this way even before he'd turned his truck into that car._

_Hye Sung fought a wave of nausea. She and De Yeon had raced home that night, wordlessly agreeing not to say a word to their parents, both of them far too aware of the consequences should they speak out. Hye Sung hadn't seen the other girl since, and though days had passed and it was all she could do not to wake screaming in the night, the one comfort she'd had was the thought that the boy would tell the police what that man had done, that he wouldn't get away with murder, no matter what he'd claimed._

_Why wouldn't the police listen? The boy had been there. He'd seen it all…but he'd also been injured. There had been blood on his face, shock in his eyes. Perhaps enough discredit his testimony?_

_It was the eyes that would have convinced her in the end, even if she hadn't spotted De Yeon hiding behind a tree only a few feet away. The boy's eyes had been filled with pain, but most of that had not been physical. How much worse had the pain become, now that he likely knew his father's killer might go free?_

_Hye Sung knew what it was to watch a horror unfold and not be believed. Could she consign him to that, no matter how terrified she was?_

_De Yeon jumped as Hye Sung approached, not having realized how little her baseball cap and eye patch hid. How much, in fact, they made her stand out._

_De Yeon glared at her former classmate. "What was that?" she demanded, trying to cover her fear with anger. "I got scared."_

_"What are you doing, hiding there and being so suspicious?"_

_"I wasn't hiding! I was just trying to see the phone number…"_

_Hye Sung's eyes widened. "Are you going to tell them you're a witness?"_

_De Yeon's forced bravado was not convincing. "Of course! Aren't you?"_

_Was she? Hye Sung tried to smile as she pulled her phone from her pocket and held it up as a sort of evidence. "Me, too. I came to get the number, so I could call them today and say I'm a witness." _

_De Yeon scoffed. "You're lying again. What do you mean, call? You came because you were scared."_

_That part was true enough, but Hye Sung wasn't going to let her know that. "You're the one who's lying. You framed someone who's innocent. I never lied, not even once."_

_De Yeon was openly skeptical. "Really? Then does that also include the part about being the witness?"_

_"Of course." _

_"Then prove it. I won't complain if you go to court and don't back out. I'll even say you aren't a liar."_

_Hye Sung was silent. That prize came with too much risk, and she was afraid._

_"Why? You can't?"_

_There was too much smug satisfaction in De Yeon's voice. "No, I'm going to do it," Hye Sung said, voice now strong and clear as she suddenly thought of a way to get what she wanted without endangering herself as much, "but you have to come as a witness, too."_

_"What?"_

_"You said you came here to be a witness. If it's not a lie, come to court."_

_De Yeon scowled. "Fine. I'll go. I'm _going_. I was going anyway."_

_Hye Sung smiled slightly, and De Yeon abruptly pushed past her, the two of them walking away without a word._

_Only when Hye Sung was around the corner and out of sight did she throw off her visor and let her panic show. "I'm crazy. Crazy! What did I just do?"_

_That night, as Choon Shim carefully peeled onions for the next day's restaurant menu and Hye Sung pretended to study for her equivalency exam, De Yeon's words echoed through her head. _

_Could she do it? Could she enter that courtroom, knowing the killer would be there, knowing he'd go after her mother if she spoke against him? Was avoiding De Yeon's scorn worth that?_

_She buried her face in her hands. "I'm about to go crazy."_

_Her mother didn't even glance at her. "If you're getting teary, then you should wear goggles. If you wear them, this wouldn't be painful at all."_

_Hye Sung turned to watch her mother. "Mom."_

_"What?"_

_"Is Miss Korea prettier, or am I prettier?"_

_Choon Shim still didn't look up. "Of course, Miss Korea." _

_Hye Sung's lip curled. "That's your problem," she snapped. "You're unnecessarily too honest." _

_Her smile turned crafty. "Then is De Yeon prettier, or am I prettier?" _

_Her mother did look at her then, but glanced quickly away. "Well, that's…if you put it that way, it's De Yeon, but don't worry. Make a lot of money and get surgery on those eyes. They'll look pretty."_

_The words were softened with a laugh, but Hye Sung's scowl deepened. "If she's so much prettier, why didn't you side with her? Why'd you side with me? Is it because I'm your daughter?"_

_Her mother cuffed her shoulder. "Look at how you talk!"_

_She was genuinely angry, but Hye Sung only groaned. "Why do you keep hitting my head?"_

* * *

_Hye Sung stood at the base of the courthouse steps, eyes narrowed with worry, reliving her mother's parting words. _

_"_I didn't side with you because you're my daughter. It was because you were right. You were always right, just like your father."

_The words had been as comforting as her mother had meant them to be, but as she stood before the courthouse, it occurred to her that this was another loss she and the boy shared. They'd both lost their fathers too early, but at least Hye Sung's had never been doubted as the boy's now was. _

_Hye Sung swallowed, stiffened her shoulders, and climbed the steps._

_In the courtroom, a nine-year-old boy stood beside his temporary caregiver, his head aching beneath the bandages, his cheek burning where a piece of glass had cut him too deeply, his heart hurting more than both of them combined. _

_Only a few feet away, his father's killer watched the three judges—one of them De Yeon's father, though the boy would never understand how connected the people in his world really were—seated themselves behind the bench. The killer, hands shackled, watched expressionlessly, but the boy hadn't yet mastered the ability to hide his emotions. His own eyes were full of hate._

_Hye Sung, still waiting outside, paced back and forth, uneasiness written across every feature as she waited for De Yeon._

_When De Yeon finally arrived, she looked genuinely disappointed to see Hye Sung waiting. "I thought you wouldn't come," she sneered, "but here you are."_

_"Same for you, too."_

_De Yeon looked at her. "Why did you wear your school uniform? Didn't you quit school?"_

_Hye Sung chose not to point out that De Yeon was also in a uniform, even if hers was a lie. "I don't think I quit."_

_De Yeon couldn't reply to that, but she also wasn't really thinking of Hye Sung's expulsion or her own role in it. Instead, she was balling her hands into fists, the reality of what she was about to do turning her heart to lead._

_Hye Sung wasn't faring any better, but she remained silent as the two of them took the elevator to the correct floor, as they paused outside the doors to the actual courtroom. There were two of them, each leading to a separate side of the court. They each approached one._

_"_If you tell, I'll kill you."

_Hye Sung hesitated. _

_"_I'm also going to kill the people you told, so stay hidden forever."

_They turned at the same time, putting their backs to the doors, terror written on both their faces. _

_"Why aren't you going in?" Hye Sung finally asked. _

_"Then how about you? Why aren't you going in?" De Yeon would have been defiant if she hadn't been so visibly shaken._

_"Let's go in together," Hye Sung suggested, not looking any more eager than De Yeon. "When I say three, let's go in together."_

_"Okay, fine." They both put their hands on the doorknobs. "One."_

_"Two," Hye Sung counted._

_They closed their eyes._

_"Three," they said together._

_One door opened. _

_One did not._

"So who opened the door?" The bald judge was on the edge of his seat, gripping his pen in a white-knuckled fist and actually leaning forward.

Hye Sung pretended to hesitate. "I will tell my story…" She smiled. "…only up to this point."

The bald judge nearly turned purple. "_Why?!" _He tried to calm himself. "Why aren't you telling the whole story?"

"In this position, I need to be honest, but if I tell the truth, I don't think it'll help me with my application."

"She didn't go in," decided one of the other interviewers.

"She would stop the story because she went in," disagreed the other.

"The only thing I'm sure of," Hye Sung said, "is that I still regret that decision until today. Also, I don't want to make that decision ever again. And that's why I'm here."

She didn't explain, but for once, she was completely sincere.

* * *

Soo Ha was a monster.

Joon Gi had been watching the taller boy in the days since their fight, first out of anger, then simply from curiosity.

He didn't know what to make of Soo Ha, couldn't understand him at all. Soo Ha had always been quiet, barely leaving an impression on Joon Gi even though they'd been in the same class for years, and if Joon Gi had thought of Soo Ha at all before the fight, he would have assumed the other boy was unpopular or simply very introverted. How else could they have known each other for so long and still be such strangers?

Introverted he might be, but Joon Gi quickly realized Soo Ha was anything but unpopular. Though the boy himself never seemed to notice, he was always being watched. Their classmates' eyes followed Soo Ha almost instinctively, often with interest, always with admiration. And though Soo Ha hardly ever spoke, his words were always accepted as truth, his every direction followed without question.

Joon Gi himself would have admitted he wasn't the most observant of people, but even after days spent following Soo Ha, always at a discrete distance, he still couldn't have explained the hold Soo Ha on those around him. The boy was unfailingly polite, always calm, but he wasn't outgoing or even all that friendly. He didn't have any friends, ate and sat by himself, even avoided looking others in the eye. He shouldn't have been exceptional.

Soo Ha was more than a ghost. He was a monster.

It didn't help that Soo Ha had just taken the highest score in the class. Again.

Joon Gi, following behind as the school emptied for the day, wasn't even angry. "What academy does that guy go to?" He slung his arm over the friend walking beside him.

They both looked at Soo Ha, who, headphones already back over his ears, didn't even seem to care that he'd done so well.

The friend frowned, also not understanding how someone could do so well without at least attending cram school. "When the 'God of Study' stays with him, why would he go to an academy?" The boy's sigh was more a sound of admiration. "How come he's good at studying? And he's tall, too…"

He pushed Joon Gi's arm away, open admiration in his expression. "And," he said, voice almost sly, "he's good at fighting."

Irritation flared. "How many times do I have to tell you that it was just luck?"

The friend had the grace to look slightly abashed.

* * *

Soo Ha, earphones still firmly in place, frowned as he walked slowly through the city streets. He'd chosen not to take the bus home, if only because he usually tried to avoid being confined with others, but a day spent in exams had left him weary enough that he wished he had.

Across the street, a man all but flew over a nearby crosswalk, trying desperately to make a forgotten meeting and not caring who he ran over in the process. He bumped into a woman standing at the edge of the sidewalk, knocking her shoulder but never apologizing as he ran on.

Annoyed, the woman turned to watch him, her dark hair falling across tired but pristine features.

Soo Ha yanked the earphones from his head, his eyes widening.

_It's her!_

The woman began to cross herself, reaching the other side just as the light changed and cars pushed through the space where she'd been.

Soo Ha nearly dropped his bag as he sprinted down the sidewalk, heart racing and eyes glued to the woman as he waited for a chance to cross himself and then losing patience and darting across the street anyway.

He almost died. Two different cars screeched to a stop only inches from him, and he was nearly run over by a third before he reached the other side. He barely even noticed, simply kept running.

She wasn't that far, close enough that he could still make out her face if he tried, see the light glinting off her hair. If the streets had been empty, he probably would have caught her.

As it was, Soo Ha found himself constantly dodging groups of students or shoppers, and by the time he reached the square, sweat stinging in his eyes and his heart breaking, she was gone.

* * *

He didn't go home. Couldn't, really, because returning to an empty house would have been more than he could have handled after coming so close. He went to the dojo instead, and if he was the only one bothering at that time of day and he was just as alone, at least he had a chance to work the frustration from his mind.

He practiced for hours, his lean body drenched in sweat beneath the taekwando uniform, his eyes red from sweat and pain. When he finally couldn't push himself any longer, he leaned against a wall, pulled her diary from his bag, and began to write as the memories all but overwhelmed him.

_The doctor pulled on one eyelid, flashing a light against the boy's pupil. "Do you feel nauseous or dizzy?"_

_The man's voice was kind, and the nine-year-old slowly shook his head. He'd felt many things since his father's death, but dizzy was no longer one of them. _

_The doctor sighed. "You still can't talk?"_

_Behind them, standing in the doorway, two detectives in dark clothes frowned and took notes. The doctors still couldn't explain why Park Soo Ha had yet to speak, but they needed to know what he'd seen and were becoming impatient. _

_From looking in their eyes, Soo Ha also knew they were beginning to think he was faking, that maybe he was trying to protect his father's memory by remaining silent. One of them already believed Min Joon Gook's story, and the other, though not a believer, still thought they were wasting their time with a child. _

_Soo Ha wanted to tell them how wrong they were, wanted to explain that it wasn't deceit or even pain stilling his tongue. How could he tell them that every time he tried to speak of what had happened to his father, his throat swelled with grief until even breathing was painful and words were impossible?_

_He tried anyway. Small hands fluttered over a heart heavy with loss, but pain stole his words, and he stared with helpless eyes at the doctor._

_The detectives glanced at each other, neither of them pleased. "Considering that he can't talk," one said, "I think we should give up on hearing what happened."_

_The other agreed. "The ongoing investigation and the witness' story match. There's nothing more to do."_

_Soo Ha might have been relieved, but he already knew the witness was the same man who had killed his father. How could they accept his story? Hadn't they seen the murder in his eyes?_

_The boy's expression suddenly lightened, and he reached for the pen and paper one of the more considerate nurses had left him. _

_"I think it'll suffice to conclude that the kid's father drove while falling asleep," the second detective was saying, not caring that the dead man's son could hear. _

_The other detective nodded. "Then I guess this case will be solved cleanly." _

_Soo Ha held up the paper, now marred by black crayon, and a whimper of need escaped his throat._

_The doctor glanced up from his clipboard, alarmed by the sound his small patient was making. His eyes widened. "Detective! Lo…look here!" _

_The man walked over, face paling as he read. He scanned the words twice, then bent over Soo Ha. "The truck driver killed your father with an iron pipe?"_

_Soo Ha nodded as hard as he could, ignoring the pain that flared from his injuries. _

_The other detective joined them. "Then…this isn't a car accident, but a murder case?"_

_Soo Ha nodded again, and the two men exchanged a look as they considered the possibilities. "Can't we get a post-mortem analysis?"_

_"No. They cremated him yesterday."_

_They stepped away, though not far enough that Soo Ha wouldn't hear. "It's also a kid who hurt his head. Should we believe this?"_

_"Weren't there any witness calls?"_

_"Not yet."_

_"Then it'll be hard with just what the kid said." He didn't look like he particularly cared. "It'll be solved only if a witness appears." _

_Soo Ha stared at them in shock, not understanding why they wouldn't help, not understanding why the witnesses he knew existed hadn't come forward, but the words still wouldn't come._

* * *

_Min Joon Gook leaned into the microphone, face calm in spite of the orange jumpsuit he wore, in spite of the judges and jury watching him. "It's definitely not," he said. "It's true that it was a car accident, but murder with a lead pipe? It's impossible."_

_It might have been convincing. Min Joon Gook seemed earnest, honest. Had Soo Ha been able to tear his eyes from the killer's face, he would have realized how believable the man seemed to the adults in the room. _

_The prosecutor wasn't quite as accepting, though it was his job to doubt. "But Park Soo Ha, the son of the victim, is saying that you killed his father."_

_Min Joon Gook scoffed. "I did break the car window using an iron pipe to save him, but, after breaking it, I found he was already dead. I think he misunderstood after seeing that."_

_Soo Ha's fingers tightened on the notepad he'd brought, and once again, he tried to speak out._

_And once again, the words didn't come. _

_The killer's lawyer, a woman with a sharp face, stood. "The only evidence that the defendant committed murder is the words of Park Soo Ha, who is the only survivor. Park Soo Ha is only eight years old. He's in second grade. He's too young to grasp what was going on in that situation." She smiled faintly, condescendingly. "Also, he has a speech disorder because of the shock. Are you sure that the testimony from this young boy with a head injury is certain and reliable enough to close this case?" _

_The judges nodded to themselves and each other, either convinced of Min Joon Gook's innocence or at least believing the child's testimony wasn't enough. _

_If they hadn't been looking at each other, they might have seen the killer's smile, the satisfaction on his face as he turned to look at the boy he'd tried to kill. _Kid, _he thought, _it seems that these idiots with smarty brains here are on my side.

_His lip curled, and Soo Ha tasted hate._

_"When Park Soo Ha wrote out his testimony," Judge Seo finally said, "was there any doctor attending?"_

_The prosecutor stood. "No. However, there was a remark from the doctor that the brain is not damaged at all."_

_Soo Ha stood, held up the notepad. _

_"What did he write?" the judge asked. "Can anyone next to him read it?"_

_The nurse assigned to accompany Soo Ha took the notepad from him. "'It seems these idiots with smarty brains here are all on my side' is what the defendant ahjussi is thinking," she read._

_Min Joon Gook's eyes widened. _

_"What is he saying?" the judge muttered, confused. _

_Soo Ha held out the notepad again. _

_"I can read people's minds," the nurse hesitantly read. _

_The killer's lawyer smiled, no longer trying to hide her contempt, and even the prosecutor scratched his head, disappointment written on his face. _

_"You saw, right?" the lawyer demanded. "He's even saying an impossible lie. Can we use this kid's testimony as accurate evidence?"_

_The child looked to the prosecutor, hoping for understanding, needing help, but the man was frowning. _Ugh, _he was thinking, _Why is everyone getting in the way? This is useless…

_"Is there any more evidence?" Judge Seo asked. "Are there perhaps any witnesses?"_

_Min Joon Gook, lip curling and confidence regained, looked again to Soo Ha. _I don't know how a kid like you can read my mind, _he thought at the boy, _but thanks. I'm saved because of you. Don't hope for any witnesses, because I told them I would kill them if they came.

_Soo Ha began to cry, great pained sobs escaping as the despair became overwhelming._

_And then the door burst open, a girl in a school uniform all but falling through. She looked to the side, shock widening her eyes even as the boy continued to sob. _

_"What is it?" Judge Seo demanded, voice suddenly harsh with recognition. _

_The judge's anger pierced the child's pain, but as he, too, turned to look at the girl, careful hope blossomed in his chest. _

_She'd come._

_The girl seemed terrified, and the fear only increased as her eyes met the killer's. She swallowed, her breathing impossibly heavy, and then she looked at Soo Ha._

_Did she see the hope in his face? The need? The fear that still lingered, because, after all, he was still a child trapped in a room with the man who'd murdered his father? _

_The girl shook herself, took a deep breath, looked up at the judges. "I'm a witness for this murder case," she said, her voice suddenly clear and strong even if she still looked afraid. "My name is Jang Hye Sung. When the accident happened, I was there, and I definitely saw it. That man…" She pointed a sudden finger at Min Joon Gook, then let her hand drop as he stared back, fury in his face. "…using a steel pipe, hit the driver's head. Also, he told us to shut up, and that the man died because he said too much."_

_She took a few steps forward, face hard as she came to stand beside Soo Ha, shielding him as much with her presence as she had with her words. _

_"Park Soo Ha, is that person a witness?" _

_Soo Ha nodded, his own fear not gone but certainly less now that he had someone to support his story. _

_The judge turned to Min Joon Gook. "Did you see that student, defendant?"_

_Min Joon Gook was equally confident. "No," he said. "It's the first time I've seen her."_

_The lawyer, too, rallied herself. "Judge, the student was not present during the investigations. She has no ability or right to be a witness."_

_The prosecutor all but leapt to his feet. "Isn't Park Soo Ha acknowledging her as a witness?" he demanded. "Judge, I request Ms. Hye Sung be a witness in this trial." _

_The lawyer turned on him. "Park Soo Ha's testimony has already lost credibility," she pointed out sharply. "Didn't you hear him talking about reading other people's minds? He's lying right now to charge the defendant as guilty."_

_One of the minor judges leaned towards Judge Seo. "It'll be hard to accept her as a witness right now."_

_The lawyer smiled, believing she'd won, and beside her, the killer all but grinned to himself._

_Hye Sung glared at them both. _

_With one more glance at Soo Ha, she held up her phone. "I have a picture here."_

_The temperature of the room seemed to drop. _

_"I took a picture of that man hitting the car with the pipe. Will this also not be evidence?"_

_One of the court assistants took the phone from her, carried it to the prosecutor. _

_Hye Sung's hands were shaking. Soo Ha, noticing, reached out and slipped his smaller hand into hers. They looked at each other, fear and determination warring in her expression, only gratitude in his. _

_Across the room, the prosecutor looked at the picture, and Min Joon Gook closed his eyes._

_Hye Sung released the boy's hand and walked towards the judges._

_The killer screamed. _

_It was a scream of pure rage, and before anyone could react, he'd leaped over the defendant's table towards Hye Sung. He grabbed her jacket, the weight of his body dropping hers, ignored her screams as his hands found her throat. "I told you that I would kill you! I said I'll kill you!"_

_There was nothing human in his screams or in his expression. His fingers tightened around her throat, kept her from drawing air. _

_Hands reached for him, tried to pull him away from the girl, but he was too strong. "I even said I'd kill the people you told!"_

_Hye Sung's face turned purple before the officers were finally able to break the killer's hold and pull him away. The girl coughed, gasping for air, as Judge Seo shouted, "Looking at the defendant's actions, it seems it'll be difficult for the witness to provide sufficient evidence in front of the defendant. The defendant will now exit!"_

_He slammed his gavel, and officers began dragging the killer out of the room._

_Min Joon Gook was still snarling, his rage stripping the humanity from his face as he glared at the girl. "I'm definitely going to keep my promise," he screamed. "I'm going to kill you! Don't think this is over, because it's just the start!" _

_The officers almost had him out the door, though even with panic entering his expression, it was taking four of them to counter his mindless strength. "I can't go to jail! I can't end it like this!"_

_He was gone, and Soo Ha looked to Hye Sung. She was still coughing, her face finally regaining natural color even though her eyes were shining with unshed tears. She held her throat, gasping._

_"Can you continue?" Judge Seo was more righteous anger than compassion, his voice demanding. "Or will you testify on the next trial date?" _

_Hye Sung dropped her hand from her throat. "No…if I don't do it right now," she choked out, "I won't be able to. It needs to be now!" _

_"Fine. We are going to accept the witness right away." Perhaps she'd impressed him, because his voice was suddenly calmer, no less stern but certainly warmer. "Please sit in the witness chair."_

_Hye Sung ignored those offering help and staggered to the witness chair. _

_"Please take an oath."_

_She forced herself back to her feet, placed her hand on the Bible brought before her. _

_Her voice was almost strong again as she recited, "I, in accordance with the dictates of my conscience, will not hide the truth and only tell the truth. I swear that if I lie, I will be punished for perjury…"_

Soo Ha, the sweat now dried, frowned down at her diary. _Today, _he wrote, _I saw someone that looks like you again…where are you right now?_

_The little boy, still wearing his hospital gown, hesitated beside the girl crying in the courthouse garden. He tapped her shoulder, and she looked up at him, despair heavy in her pretty face, tears streaking down her cheeks._

_He thought he'd never seen anyone more beautiful. _

_He looked around, frantically scanning the ground for anything he could use, then grabbing a small rock. He scratched at the concrete at her feet, the rock leaving a faint white line. _

Thanks.

_She stopped crying, and he looked up at her, adoration and hope in his eyes._

_She dropped her head in her hand, then suddenly dragged her foot over the chalk, erasing the words. "There's no need to be thankful!" she spat. "I'm regretting that I even came!"_

_The despair returned, because even if his father's killer had been taken away, suddenly it was just as important that this girl, this savior, not hate him. _

_When she stood and walked away, he followed._

_He must not have been quiet enough, because after only a few steps, she spun. "Don't follow me!"_

_The words and the anger in her face hurt, but he didn't stop following her._

_"I told you not to follow me!"_

_She started to run but tripped instead, falling to her knees in a patch of mud. She didn't see the diary that fell from her bag, but before he could show her, she turned and grabbed him by the shoulders. "This is because of you! This is all because of you!"_

_He could feel how hard her hands were shaking, could see the terror in her face. Perhaps he should have been angry at her, maybe even afraid for her, but all he felt was awe. Though a child himself, Soo Ha still understood just how much courage she must have had, to come forward in spite of her fear. _

_"Don't follow me, because I don't want to see you!"_

_The words might have been cruel, but as she released him and the tears again began to drip down her cheeks, he looked into her eyes._

Why did I come? If that person really tries to kill me, what'll I do? He said he'll come get me after he gets out of jail. How can I live now?

_And Soo Ha's world changed._

_I haven't forgotten you, _amuch older Soo Ha wrote in the book she'd left behind, his expression softer as he thought of the girl who'd saved him so many times.

_The child Soo Ha put his arms around the girl's neck, willing her to feel safe, feeling her hair beneath his fingers and her body shaking against his. _

If I meet you again, definitely…

_There was no hesitation now, no despair choking back his words. He'd found something stronger than the pain that had kept him silent, and he looked into the girl's eyes, hoping she could see the determination in his own. "I'll…protect you." _

_The girl blinked at him, shocked out of her tears. "What is this…? You know how to talk."_

_He just nodded, knowing he didn't have time to tell her of the gift she'd given him._

_She smiled._

"I will protect you," Soo Ha wrote. "I…will protect you."

Soo Ha struck the punching bag, the force of his kick sending the bag flying, the diary open on the floor behind him, infusing him with strength.

He lashed out with his foot again and again as a light breeze pushed into the dojo, causing the pages of the diary to flip.

_Today, I saw someone that looks like you, too, _he'd written one night after running up an escalator to catch a woman with dark hair, a woman he'd caught but had known with a single glance wasn't her.

"I'm sorry," he'd said to the startled woman, though the very next day, he was running through the crowds, dodging pedestrians as he chased a woman too young to be his savior, and then again a few days later, with a woman slightly too old.

Day after day, he trained, and day after day, his heart broke a little more as the woman he'd been trying to find for ten years continued to evade him.

It didn't matter. None of it did—not the countless hours he'd spent walking the streets, scanning the crowds for her face. Not the uncertainty, the emptiness in his heart. He'd keep looking, however long it took.

She was everything.

_Where are you, Jang Hye Sung?_


End file.
